Erik Writing 101

Rocketry Launch #1

Today we launched our rockets. It was really fun since I got to actually set up the rocket on the launchpad for our group. It was pretty simple; since all, you needed to do was:

1 – Put the rocket filled with 200 ml of water on the rubber stopper. 2 – Secure the rocket by setting two flat metal bars above the plastic ring below the cap, then screwing them in place. 3 – Attach a bike pump to the cord connected to the stopper, pump to 90 psi, then pull the rope (but not without a proper countdown, of course)

The rocket should blast off in the air.

Our rocket group, J.E.X.L (the letters of our first names)’s rocket went 56.5 meters in the air. Here is how we found the exact measurement:

First, when we launched, a group of Clinometer Readers and Data Recorders were set 50 m of either side of the launchpad. The Clinometer Readers used clinometers (obviously) to measure the height of a stationary/moving object. When you point it at the height of the object, gravity points the arrow down at the measurements etched at the bottom, similar to a protractor. Also, there is a trigger that releases the arrow and keeps it in place. There are two people at each point, so there is an Angle 1 A and B, along with angle 2. The averages for both of them for our group were 45° and 53°. We drew a graph and aligned it with the meter chart next to it. But you are not done, you need to add the height average to the total, 1.5. I got 55, so 55m +1.5m =56.5!

The building of our rocket was tough since we went through a lot of mistakes. First, we mixed bottles, so we glued one of the cardboard wings before realized. Next, we mixed tapes, so our rocket was red when we wanted it to be pink. Finally, I did wrong measurements on the nose cone, so the 3d printed thing was 2-3 times bigger than our rocket. It was hard.

The type of science we are learning in physics. The first thing we did was study Isaac Newton and his laws in these booklets. The First law states that every object persists in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it. An example of this is when there is a stationary soccer ball that you kicked, the power of your foot is the outside force. The Second law states force equal to the change in momentum (mV) per change in time. For a constant mass, force equals mass times acceleration. For example, a car accelerates faster than a truck because the car has less mass. The third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. An example of this is when you paddle a canoe, your force from the paddle pushes the water back, while it pushes you forward.

When we launched, our rocket got totally wrecked. When it landed, (since we were the highest, the rocket landed with more force, the bottle got totally crinkled up and one of the fins got loose. But before I mentioned we had a bigger nose cone, so a friend printed it on his 3d printer over the weekend. Around 30 minutes before the launch, we glued on the nose cone, and I was worried that it would come off. But when we checked it after the launch, it was perfectly stable.